The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa has stated that the issues of piracy and armed robbery in the Niger Delta have “really gone down”.
Musa reaffirmed the federal government commitment to strengthening security in the region.
Naijaonpoint reports that Musa shared the development while addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting with key stakeholders in the oil and gas sector at the 6 Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt Barracks, Rivers State.
Minister said the engagement was a continuation of previous consultations aimed at assessing progress and identifying solutions to challenges confronting the oil industry.
“It’s been good. It could be better, but the members of the Armed Forces are working tirelessly to ensure that the area is secured,” Musa said.
“Issues of piracy, armed robbery and all these have really gone down.
“Production has improved. We are far above our oil contract production, and we are aiming very, very high,” he added.
The minister explained that host communities were invited to the meeting to ensure their concerns were reflected in the government’s plans for improving security and increasing production.
“We even invited the communities so that we can hear from their own aspect what the challenges are. The President is really determined to ensure that the oil-producing areas are well secured and the oil communities are happy and well taken care of, so that we can have more production,” Musa added.
According to the defence minister, one of the major issues raised during the meeting was the need to strengthen trust between host communities and oil operators.
He said the Armed Forces would continue to deepen civil-military relations and stakeholder engagement to bridge the gap.
Musa also used the opportunity to address Nigeria’s broader security challenges, calling on citizens to support security agencies with credible information.
“This is a Nigerian challenge. Terrorism is now a worldwide affair and we need everybody to be on board. The terrorists and bandits live within the communities. If the people don’t provide information and continue to support them with logistics, it creates this atmosphere of insecurity,” he said.
Expressing optimism about ongoing security operations, the minister added, “Working together with the security forces, we’ll achieve, and we’re already achieving, so much.”
The meeting brought together senior security officers, regulators, international oil companies (IOCs), indigenous oil firms, oil host community representatives and other stakeholders.
